In 2021, WattElse embarked on the renovation of a heritage building to accommodate its current offices located in Wierde (close to Namur). The move took place in June 2023 and we are delighted to be able to welcome our teams, customers and suppliers to these new premises ideally located in the heart of Wallonia, close to motorway and rail routes as well as regional administrations.
This ambitious project is a real showcase of good practices in renewable production, energy efficiency, building envelope and electric mobility. What’s more, the renovation of this building located in an area of heritage interest is proof that it is perfectly possible to restore a building while achieving very good energy performance. Given our desire to work for sustainable development, this project makes perfect sense!
As explained by Mathieu Van Gehuchten, Director and Founder of the company: “We are proud to have renovated this building by offering it a high level of energy performance while respecting its heritage character. As experts in the energy transition, we are now very well-shod shoemakers! “.
The fact of giving a second life to this building which was first of all a municipal house, then a municipal school and finally a scout premises for the Wierde Unit also allows the company to anchor itself a little more in the Namurois and Walloon landscape. After being taken over by a private owner more than 10 years ago, this promising building unfortunately remained abandoned and was in an advanced state of disrepair when it was acquired by the WattElse company.
Florence Renaut, Administrative & HR Manager at WattElse, is also delighted with this change: “In a few weeks, this new building will undoubtedly be a superb modular working environment and perfectly suited to the development of the company, which we We rejoice! ».
An exemplary building from an energy point of view:
The result of the reflection of the various members and experts of our multidisciplinary team, the following work has been undertaken in recent months in order to make the building exemplary in terms of energy:
- Replacement and total insulation of the roof,
- Full insulation of the walls and floors of the building,
- Placement of high-performance triple-glazed aluminum frames,
- Installation of a heat pump, underfloor heating and a ventilation system,
- Placement of photovoltaic panels on part of the roof,
- Placement of 5 electrical terminals for our fleet of vehicles.
In addition to this work linked to the energy performance of the building, there are beautification measures such as the complete sanding of the facades (completed) and some exterior (re)developments (in progress).
A building in the heart of Wallonia to work on the energy deployment of our region
Our job as a renewable energy and energy efficiency project manager allows us to closely monitor the regulatory (i.e. urban and environmental), technical, financial and communication aspects of this specific project but also of the missions that occupy us.
This long-term file is therefore a very good embodiment of the good practices that we advocate and deploy to our clients in order to help them benefit from the opportunities linked to the energy transition.
We would already like to thank some of our partners who contributed to the implementation of this great project, namely:
- Isabelle Montaigne from the CBC and Véronique Léonard from Sowalfin for the help provided with the financing,
- The company ISEO (Mr Nicolas Jadoul, CEO) for the insulation of the entire building,
- Our architect Alex Melange and his team,
- The Menuisol company for the frames,
- Georges André from the company AG Construct for the renovation of the roof,
- Ms Françoise Bovesse (Urban Planning – Namur) and Mr Tanguy Auspert (Heritage Alderman) of the City of Namur for their good monitoring and good practices throughout the file.
Other stakeholders and trades are still at work. We will therefore be happy to present them in the next publication.
If you would like to know more, do not hesitate to send us an email to info@wattelse.be.